Method and System of Processing Multi-Energy X-Ray Images

1. A method of processing a multi-energy X-ray image, the method comprising: acquiring, in a predetermined time interval, a plurality of target images for each of at least two energy bands formed by a multi-energy X-ray after passing through a target where a contrast agent is applied, from a multi-energy X-ray source; and performing an image signal processing on the plurality of target images, further comprising: estimating respective initial images for at least one of plural materials, over the predetermined time interval, using the plurality of target images; updating an initial estimated image of the estimated respective initial images based on, at least, one of later estimated images of the estimated respective initial images for the at least one of plural materials; and generating a material decomposition image based on the updating of the initial estimated image.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the image signal processing includes for each energy band of the multi-energy X-ray irradiated from the multi-energy X-ray source, processing an image from the plurality of target images collected within the predetermined time interval.

3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing a pre-processing on the plurality of target images including searching for a predetermined Region of Interest (ROI) within the plurality of target images, and separately storing a target image including the searched ROI from target images.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising performing a pre-processing on the plurality of target images by removing from at least one target image a motion artifact.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing of the image signal processing comprises decomposing information from the plurality of target images into separately displayable components or materials including at least one of an image representing photoelectric attenuation of a corresponding area of the body including the target, an image representing a Compton scatter of the area, an image representing a subtraction image for at least the predetermined time interval corresponding to respective target images of the at least two energy bands, and an image representing an X-ray angiography for the area.

6. At least one non-transitory medium comprising computer readable instructions to control at least one processing element to implement the method of claim 1 .

7. A method of processing a multi-energy X-ray image, the method comprising: acquiring, in a predetermined time interval, a plurality of target images for each of at least two energy bands formed by a multi-energy X-ray after passing through a target where a contrast agent is applied, from a multi-energy X-ray source; and performing an image signal processing on the plurality of target images, wherein the performing of the image signal processing comprises: estimating respective initial images for each of plural materials, using the plurality of target images; acquiring respective material decomposition images for each of the plural materials from the respective initial images, determining a correction value for minimizing a predetermined cost function, and updating an initial image for one of the plural materials, of the respective initial images, to a material decomposition image based on predetermined material decomposition algorithm by applying the determined correction value to the initial image; and measuring an amount of the contrast agent applied to the target by analyzing the material decomposition image when one of the plural materials is the contrast agent.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the performing of the image signal processing further comprises: performing a dynamics analysis of the amount of the contrast agent within the predetermined time interval.

9. At least one non-transitory medium comprising computer readable instructions to control at least one processing element to implement the method of claim 7 .

10. A method of using a multi-energy X-ray source to generate detected information from at least two energy bands of a multi-energy X-ray for generating a decomposition image of at least a select material of a target while the select material is within a body, the method comprising: acquiring, in a predetermined time interval, a plurality of target images for each of the at least two energy bands formed by the multi-energy X-ray of the multi-energy X-ray source after passing through the target; and performing an image signal processing on the plurality of target images, further comprising: estimating respective estimated images for at least one of plural materials, over the predetermined time interval, using the plurality of target images; updating an initial estimated image of the estimated images based on, at least, one of later estimated images of the estimated images for the at least one of plural materials; and generating a material decomposition image based on the updating of the initial estimated image.

11. The method of claim 10 , further comprising administering a contrast agent to the body as the select material.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the performing of the image signal processing comprises decomposing information from the plurality of target images into separately displayable components or materials including at least one of an image representing photoelectric attenuation of a corresponding area of the body including the target, an image representing a Compton scatter of the area, an image representing a subtraction image for at least the predetermined time interval corresponding to respective target images of the at least two energy bands, and an image representing an X-ray angiography for the area.

13. At least one non-transitory medium comprising computer readable instructions to control at least one processing element to implement the method of claim 10 .

14. A method of using a multi-energy X-ray source to generate detected information from at least two energy bands of a multi-energy X-ray for generating a decomposition image of at least a select material of a target while the select material is within a body, the method comprising: acquiring, in a predetermined time interval, a plurality of target images for each of the at least two energy bands formed by the multi-energy X-ray of the multi-energy X-ray source after passing through the target; performing an image signal processing on the plurality of target images; and administering a contrast agent to the body as the select material, wherein the performing of the image signal processing comprises: measuring an amount of the contrast agent found within the target based on the material decomposition image; measuring dynamics over time of the amount of the contrast agent of the target within the predetermined time interval; and diagnosing at least whether a lesion or mass within the target is malignant by comparing the measured dynamics with a dynamics table.

15. The method of claim 14 , wherein a result of the comparison is output to a user.

16. A method of using a multi-energy X-ray source to generate detected information from at least two energy bands of a multi-energy X-ray for generating a decomposition image of at least a select material of a target while the select material is within a body, the method comprising: acquiring, in a predetermined time interval, a plurality of target images for each of the at least two energy bands formed by the multi-energy X-ray of the multi-energy X-ray source after passing through the target; and performing an image signal processing on the plurality of target images, wherein the performing of the image signal processing comprises: measuring an amount of the contrast agent, as the select material, found within the target based on the material decomposition image; measuring dynamics over time of the amount of the contrast agent of the target within the predetermined time interval; and diagnosing at least whether a lesion or mass within the target is malignant by comparing the measured dynamics with a dynamics table.

17. The method of claim 16 , wherein the decomposition image is updated plural predetermined times within the predetermined time interval missing.

18. At least one non-transitory medium comprising computer readable instructions to control at least one processing element to implement the method of claim 16 .

19. A method of processing a multi-energy X-ray image, the method comprising: acquiring, in a predetermined time interval, a plurality of target images formed for each of at least two energy bands from a multi-energy X-ray passing through a target where a contrast is applied, from a multi-energy X-ray source; performing an image signal processing on the plurality of target images, further comprising: estimating respective initial images for at least one of plural materials, over the predetermined time interval, using the plurality of target images; updating an initial estimated image of the estimated respective initial images based on, at least, one of later estimated images of the estimated respective initial images for the at least one of plural materials; and generating a material decomposition image based on the updating of the initial estimated image, wherein the performing of the image signal processing on the plurality of target images include at least one of: processing the estimated respective initial images for the at least one of the plural materials, using the plurality of target images for plural predetermined times within the predetermined time interval, and for each of the at least two energy bands of the multi-energy X-ray irradiated from the multi-energy X-ray source, performing a dynamics analysis of a measured amount of the contrast agent within the predetermined time interval, measuring the amount of the contrast agent applied to the target by analyzing a material decomposition image, which is based on the updating of the initial estimated image, wherein the at least one of plural materials includes the contrast agent, and controlling one of the target image and the material decomposition image, resulting from the image signal processing, to be displayed through a display.

20. The method of claim 19 , wherein the performing of the image signal processing comprises decomposing information from the plurality of target images into separately displayable components or materials including at least one of an image representing photoelectric attenuation of a corresponding area of the body including the target, an image representing a Compton scatter of the area, an image representing a subtraction image for at least the predetermined time interval corresponding to respective target images of the at least two energy bands, and an image representing an X-ray angiography for the area.

21. The method of claim 19 , further comprising comparing the measured dynamics with a dynamics table to diagnose whether a lesion or mass within the target is malignant.

22. At least one non-transitory medium comprising computer readable instructions to control at least one processing element to implement the method of claim 19 .

23. An apparatus for processing a multi-energy X-ray image, the apparatus comprising: a control unit to control a multi-energy X-ray source to cause a multi-energy X-ray to be irradiated to a target during a predetermined time interval; an X-ray detector to acquire a plurality of target images for each of at least two energy bands of the a multi-energy X-ray passing through the target where a contrast agent is applied; and an image processing and analyzing unit to perform an image signal processing on the plurality of target images, including: estimating respective initial images for at least one of plural materials, over the predetermined time interval, using the plurality of target images; updating an initial estimated image of the estimated respective initial images based on, at least, one of later estimated images of the estimated respective initial images for the at least one of plural materials; and generating a material decomposition image based on the updating of the initial estimated image, with the image signal processing including at least one of: processing the estimated respective initial images for the at least one of the plural materials, using the plurality of target images, for plural predetermined times within the predetermined time interval, and for each of the at least two energy bands of the multi-energy X-ray, performing a dynamics analysis of a measured amount of the contrast agent within the predetermined time interval, and measuring the amount of the contrast agent applied to the target by analyzing a material decomposition image from the target images for the at least one of plural materials, which include the contrast agent.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the image processing and analyzing unit further comprises: a pre-processing unit to perform a pre-processing including at least one of: searching a predetermined Region of Interest (ROI) within the plurality of target images for a target image and separately storing the target image including the searched ROI from target images not including the searched ROI; and removing from at least one target image a motion artifact.

25. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the image processing and analyzing unit further decomposes information from the plurality of target images into separately displayable components or materials including at least one of an image representing photoelectric attenuation of a corresponding area of the body including the target, an image representing a Compton scatter of the area, an image representing a subtraction image for at least the predetermined time interval corresponding to respective target images of the at least two energy bands, and an image representing an X-ray angiography for the area.

26. The apparatus of claim 23 , wherein the image processing and analyzing unit further compares the measured dynamics with a dynamics table to diagnose whether a lesion or mass within the target is malignant.